1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic circuits for error detection and more particularly to an electronic circuit for continuous testing and quantification of inaccuracies in time domain multiplexer circuits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional multiplexer circuits are not radiation hardened and are most often in integrated form. It is known that conventional multiplexer circuit operations are likely to be adversely affected in terms of errors when placed in severe environments such as unusually high temperature or radiation flux. For this reason, radiation hardened integrated multiplexer circuits are typically used for such applications.
There are two main detractors to the use of radiation hardened multiplexers and radiation hardened electronics in general, namely cost and availability. Radiation hardened electronics are an order of magnitude more costly than military electronics, which are considerably more expensive then conventional electronics. Additionally, there does not exist the variety nor the long-term availability of radiation hardened electronics compared to conventional electronics.
Therefore, should the means to allow the use of non-radiation hardened electronics in those applications where radiation hardened electronics are currently deemed necessary, be developed, considerable cost savings, and possibly greater functionality due to a larger variety of components, may be achieved. To further increase cost savings and reliability, while decreasing complexity, any such means would normally possess a minimal of additional hardware.
In that drift would be expected of a non-radiation hardened multiplexer in severe environments, a method of constant monitoring would be necessary to determine and quantify the extent of drift occurring at any given time. The term "drift" for the purposes of this patent application will refer to any situation where the output of the multiplexer fails to remain an accurate representation of the voltage at the multiplexer's input. Further, should the drift exceed acceptable limits, means for appropriate compensation or possibly simple data adjustment could be of considerable value. While circuitry exists to monitor the output of time domain multiplexers, specifically by time-domain-reflectometry, such systems do not have the means to monitor the input to output path of the selected detector signals nor do they have the ability to compensate for drift once detected.